WCEP Focuses on Prayer, Song and Spoken Language for ONAYLF

The sounds of 41 spoken and sung Native
languages filled the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History
on April 2-3, 2018. Since 2003, the museum has served as the host
to the Oklahoma Native American Youth Language Fair.

According to festival representative
Nancy Coleman, this year's numbers included 1,363 students, 197
live performances and a total of 2,989 attendees over the two
days.

This year, the Wichita Cultural
Education Program, led by Cultural Planner Gary McAdams, won
multiple awards through the use of the Wichita language.

On the first morning of the festival on
April 2, Hayden Hill won first place in the 3rd-5th Grade
Individual Spoken Prayer category. Shortly after, Brianna Hill won
first place in the 3rd-5th Grade Individual Traditional Song
category. Both competitions took place in the Sam Noble Museum's
Discovery Room.

The next day saw 9th-12th Grade Wichita
students represented on April 3. First, Makennah McAdams, the
2017-2018 Wichita Tribal Princess, won second place in the 9th-12th
Grade Modern Song category with a Wichita language rendition of
"I'll Fly Away." This event took place in the museum's Discovery
Room.

In the Great Hall section of the
museum, sisters Leyla and Elizabeth Saldana filled the room with
Wichita lullabies, winning first place in the 6th-8th Grade Small
Group Traditional Song category.

Following the Saldana sisters, members
of the Wichita Young Man Society and the Kitikiti'sh Little Sisters
performed in the Kerr Auditorium. The Wichita Young Man Society
sang Big Wolf songs, placing third in the 9th-12th Grade Small
Group Traditional Song category. The members who sang included Kody
McAdams, Kevin Marquez, Caleb Holman, Dominic Blindwoman and James
Marquez.

Charlie McAdams then closed the day with a first-place win in
the 9th-12th Grade Individual Spoken Language category, telling the
Wichita Creation Story. This final event for the Wichita students
took place in the Great Plains Classroom.